


2016-The Birthday Present

by Marcus_Gantry



Series: Photographic Memories [7]
Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:27:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26942881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marcus_Gantry/pseuds/Marcus_Gantry
Summary: Rabbit finds a way to cheer The Spine, who is in a funk over a missing memory.
Series: Photographic Memories [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1966084
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	2016-The Birthday Present

“Spine! SPINE!”  
Rabbit came tearing down the darkened corridor and crashed full steam into the doorjamb of the room labelled H.O.W. The doorjamb creaked loudly in complaint as the full weight of the robot slammed against it. The door was ajar, thankfully, for Rabbit’s sake — and probably the door’s. It flew open as she careened into the room.

“Spine! Wake UP!” She went skittering over to where The Spine usually sat when in the room. She saw him there, vaguely registering no vest, shirtsleeves and a bit of a disheveled look, yet she enthusiastically reached out and began to shake his shoulder, until she realized, “Oh!” that the body she was shaking had no head attached at the shoulders. She went on shaking though, as she yelled up into the rafters, “Spine! Where are you Spine! Wake up! Come on! You gotta come downstairs!”

High above in the darkness that most times engulfed the far recesses of the Hall of Wires, The Spine was drifting on a soft lullaby tune from the dimness of his past. The tune drifted in and out of his consciousness stream, fragmenting, forming, mutating as he parsed it while in his semi-shut-down state. His eyes glowed a dim green in the darkness 

“Spine!”

He was aware of his sister’s exuberant shouting below but allowed the tune to play out before engaging his full attention. His eyes began to glow more intensely.  
“I’m up here Rabbit.”

“SPINE! You gotta come downstairs. Come on and see!”

With a long-suffering sigh, The Spine slowly disengaged from the power feed and uncoupled from the main data interface, then he commanded the hydraulic power systems in the room to return his head to his body. As he neared, he could see Rabbit still shaking his shoulder.

“Rabbit, hold still,” he chided as he hovered above.

Rabbit looked over, realized what she was doing, “Sooorrry!” she said. With a clockwork wrenching of gears she sheepishly pulled her hand away and took a step back. But, as it was unlike Rabbit to hold still for even a small amount of time, she rocked back and forth with excitement, her face beaming a gleeful, if slightly crazed-looking, smile.

The Spine carefully reconnected, noting as he powered up his central core that he had been off-line for almost three full days, and that he was low on water. He momentarily wondered how that had been allowed to happen as usually goings-on in the manor disturbed him far more frequently. He hadn’t been “feeling well” lately, even though he kept telling himself robots do not get sick. He was sure it wasn’t a sickness. He felt tired, even though he kept telling himself that robots do not get tired. The worst of it though seemed to be he just couldn’t forget the past, even though he could not remember a good portion of it. He felt he was seeking for something, not sure what. He was finding memories were somewhat fragmented owing to some human attempts to remove the horrors of the wars he’d been subjected to. He tried to shake the melancholy feeling as he noticed Rabbit literally trembling with her barely contained eagerness.

Mustering his best smile, “What is it, Rabbit?”

Rabbit jumped forward, taking The Spine by the hand. “Come on! Come see! Come See!”

With a tinge of trepidation The Spine allowed himself to be pulled from the room, trying hard not to drag Rabbit back but not quite keeping up with her either.

They navigated the maze of hallways together, Rabbit whirring with mechanical glee as they descended the myriad steps to the manor hall, pulling on all the old bell cords as she passed. As they approached the main hall, The Spine noticed curtains were uncharacteristically drawn back and daylight shown brightly through the windows. He even noticed that someone had cleaned the glass. There was not a cobweb in sight.

“Why Rabbit! You’ve been cleaning?”

“Yes! Yes! Wait til you see though. You’re going to love it!” She rush ahead to stand with her back against the double doors to the dining room. When The Spine had caught up she turned, and with a flourish, threw the doors open wide. 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

The Spine took a step back in surprise. Rabbit put a shoulder to his back and, with some effort, pushed him forward into the room. The morning sun shown brightly through the opened gallery windows. Streamers hung from the ceiling. Glittered and shiny objects hung from the chandeliers (most of them silver, he noticed.) Most notable was the giant cake covered in flickering candles which stood 5 tiered layers tall on the sideboard. The room was crowded with everyone who lived at the manor (minus security of course.) They all broke out into song, Rabbit leading them on the loudest.

The Spine didn’t know how to react, didn’t know how to respond. He pivoted from face to face as the song crescendoed to “Happy Birthday Dear Spine! Happy Birthday to YOU!” it ended on a perfect harmonic note. Everyone looked to him.

“I…I uh…Thank you all!” In a whispered aside to Rabbit, “It’s my birthday?”

Rabbit whispered back, “It sure is! We looked it up.” He gave her his under-the-eyebrows look of “No, it’s not,” but before he could say anything aloud, Rabbit loudly exclaimed, “The candles, Spine! You have to blow out the candles!” She pushed him toward the sideboard. Giving it up as hopeless, The Spine sized up the cake and ever so carefully released just enough already-circulated steam to blow out each candle. All 100-plus of them. One at a time. While not melting the icing. Everybody cheered him on getting louder as he approached the last of them, then clapping as he extinguished the last.

Hatchworth was immediately at his elbow offering up a neatly wrapped package with an electric orange bow on top. “We have presents!” 

“Presents!” shrieked Rabbit as she grabbed The Spine by the elbow and spun him around toward the chair at the center of the room. His gyros slipped and there was a whine of complaining servos as he struggled to remain upright against hurricane force Rabbit. His dorsal spines unsheathed as he sat heavily on the edge of the chair, the spines scraping at the fabric of the chair back. Steam quietly hissed from both of his top vents as the over-compensation pressure was released.

“Presents! Presents for The Spine!”

“Really Rabbit, I don’t think all this is really necessary…” he laughed halfheartedly.

“It’s your birthday! What’s a birthday without presents?” 

“Oh, me first! Me first!” Hatchworth jumped. “Here! Here, open it up!”

The Spine took the large box from Hatchworth gingerly and put it to his ear.  
“Well, it’s not ticking. That’s a good sign, right?”  
He sat it on his lap and having learned from decades of past parties, tore off the bow and paper with a gusto he didn’t quite feel. He opened the box and peered inside.

“Why Hatchworth,” he pulled out a black leather gambler-style cowboy hat. “This is…this is really nice.” He held it up for everyone to see.

“Oooooh…. Aaaaah….” everyone said in unison.

“Put it on! Put it on!” urged Rabbit.

Carefully The Spine disengaged his classic fedora. He lowered the new hat onto his head and cinched it down into place. It fit perfectly. He looked across at the mirror on the sideboard. He had to admit he looked damn good wearing it too. “Thank you, Hatchy.”

“Hmm…mmm…your welcome Spine,” he beamed.

“We have something for you,” Chelsea and Camille said together and presented a flat box.  
The Spine took it with a genuine smile for the two girls and unwrapped it. It was a black, glove-leather vest with red piping. 

“Oooooh…. Aaaah….” everyone said in unison.

“It’s made to fit,” said Camille. “Here, stand up.” He stood. “Hold your arms straight out in front.” He did. One on each side, they slipped the vest on his arms and up over his shoulders, moving behind to snap the collar in place above his spines and fasten the waist piece below. The Spine ran his hands down over the soft leather to smooth it into place. He took a moment to shake out his shirtsleeves and button the cuffs.

“Thank you, girls!” He spread his arms and drew them to him in a very gentle hug. They each kissed his cheeks then ran back to their places. The Spine sat back down as G.G. approached, carrying a small box in her mouth. She placed it on his knee.

“For you Spine.” She batted her lashes at him.

“Aw G.G., thank you.” He snapped the ribbon and opened the box. “It’s a pocket square.” He held it up for all to see.

“Ooooh…. Aaaah….” everyone said in unison, with much more mirth and laughter. He slid the pocket square into the pocket of his new vest. He looked up to see Peter before him holding out a large box. He took it with a grin now. He was enjoying this to a modest extent, you know, being the center of attention and showered with gifts.

The box was simple, not wrapped but had a large silver bow on top. He lifted the lid and gasped. “These are….Peter, these are great!” He lifted out a pair of heavy black cowboy boots, pointed toes, straight heels, the figure of a bull’s head stitched in red on the sides. 

“Oooooooooooooh…. Aaaaaaaaaah….” everyone said in unison.

Peter knelt down and drew some tools from his side pocket. “We’ll get you fitted right up.” He made short work of replacing The Spine’s shoes with the boots. Fitting was a little finicky, but it was important nothing slipped. 

“Take em for a walk, Spine.”

The Spine jumped up from his chair. Cowboy boots. Real cowboy boots! He stood, shuffling his weight from foot to foot, testing the feel. They were similar to the half-boot shoes he normally wore, but just a bit heavier and stiffer. He recalibrated his stance, took a step, then another, and another. Everyone was clapping and cheering. He beamed a smile as he went around the room. The cake was being cut and the humans were partaking along with other food and drink. Someone handed him a tankard of water, making him realize his reserves were really quite low. He drained it almost immediately and took another and drained that one too. Someone opened the side doors to the patio. The party spilled out into the sunshine. It was a beautiful day.

“Spine? Spine, come over here.” Rabbit was holding his elbow, steering him away from the revelers. 

“What is it Rabbit?”

“I have a present for you Spine. But we have to go over here, around the house a bit.”

“What? And leave the party?” The Spine looked back over his shoulder thinking that might be a bit rude. Besides he was beginning to enjoy himself, just a little bit. 

“They’ll know why you’re gone.”

“They’ll know…? What? And I don’t?”

“Well then it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?” A mirthful smile spread across her face. “Besides I don’t want them to be Ooohing and Aaaahing if you happen to fall on your face.”

“Whaat?”

“Come on Spine, Let’s go!” She got behind him and put her hands over his eyes, steering him clumsily, but not letting him fall, taking him around to the side yard.

“Rabbit, what are you doing, where are we going?”

“SURPRISE!” Rabbit removed her hands.

The Spine blinked. He stood stock still and speechless, his mouth hanging open. A horse. A real… live… horse! A massive black horse with a long curly mane and tail. He was rigged in western show tack, the antique tooled leather looked almost black. The saddle had silver bosses and red ties, the headstall had engraved silver accents. A very old man stood next to the animal holding its tether.

“Spine are you okay?” Rabbit touched his shoulder, worried. Sometimes her brother’s circuits would simply freeze up and that could possibly ruin the day for everyone.

“Is that…?”

“Uh huh,” nodded Rabbit.

“Come on over here, son,” the man beckoned. The horse, and the man, had had two days to get used to the mechanical nature of some of the people in the manor. They had both been born and raised in New York City and were not phased one bit by the two steam powered, sentient beings who approached. The black horse tossed his head, more as a welcome than from any sort of fear. He neighed softly.

“I’m Anthony,” the old man said and stuck out a hand. “But call me Tony.”  
“This here’s Jake.”  
The Spine reached to return the handshake remembering just in time, “human!” and didn’t close his grip. He never took his eyes off the huge black horse.

“Can I…touch him.”

“Shore, you can. Pat him gently there on the shoulder. He does like his withers scratched too, but gotta remind you to be gentle, they tell me.”

The Spine glanced over and smiled, “I’ll be gentle.” He reached out with a hand and touched the sleek black coat, running his hand over the animal’s shoulder. He did that several times, his eyes closing in near bliss. It’s been years, he thought to himself. We haven’t had horses here since…. His systems stuttered and his knees almost gave out. His recovery was quick. He’d almost had it, the memory that had been tugging at his heart so heavily for the past month, just out of reach. 

“He’s so warm. And soft,” he murmured to cover his lapse.

“Scratch his withers, up there near the front of the saddle.”

The Spine reached up and gently scratched where told. The horse nickered and tossed his head.

“Son, do you want to ride him?”

The Spine pulled his hand back quickly and looked suddenly crestfallen. “I don’t want to hurt him. I…I’m…heavier…than I look.”

Peter had come around to the side yard anticipating The Spine’s doubts. “He’s a Friesian horse, Spine. They were bred as war horses for men in armor. With all of your recent titanium alloy upgrades, especially the new ones, you don’t weigh more than a man in heavy armor now.”

“He’s built for it,” Tony reassured. “Jake here’s a big-boned Baroque type. He’s bigger than most too. Strong. And smart. He’ll let us know if yer too much for him. But I don’t think y’are.”

The Spine thought about it for a few seconds then said quietly, “Yes, I’d like to ride him. Very much, yes.”

“Okay then, son. Over here.” Tony led the horse over to where some cinder blocks had been stacked into steps.  
Rabbit stayed next to Peter, uncharacteristically quiet, but smiling as she watched her bro. She visibly crossed her fingers that the horse would not refuse him as a rider.

“Go on. Up the steps. I don’t want you to try mounting from the ground. I want you to gently ease yourself down onto the saddle. No sudden moves and no sudden dropping of weight, okay? Can ya do that?”

“Yes sir. Now?”

Tony put a hand on Jake’s bridle where the tether attached. He nodded and began patting the horse’s neck. The Spine carefully swung his leg over the top of the horse and with both hands on the saddle pommel, eased himself down onto the saddle. Jake tossed his head once and nickered softly. 

“That’s good, son. Jake says yer okay. Now put your feet in the stirrups. We may need to adjust em. Yer a tall one. All legs, you are. Yup, hang on.” Tony quickly adjusted the stirrups to the last hole on the leather straps. “Stand in the stirrups.” Spine did so. “Good. I don’t have to go get the leather punch.” The Spine sat back down.  


“Gonna fix your posture a bit. You need to not bounce in the saddle. Bad for you, worse for the horse Roll your hips under a bit, but not onto your back pockets. Good. Your heels should be about the same line as your hips. Good. And your heels are down. Good. Keep your back and shoulders relaxed. If you tighten up, you will bounce and that’s not good. Take the reins from the horn there and hold them in whichever hand is strongest…er… more dominant, if you have a preference.” 

The Spine took the reins in his right hand, holding them together as he’d seen cowboys do in the movies he’d watched. “Good, okay, Jake here is ‘neck-reined.’ Really straight forward. If you want to go left you move your hand to the left. The leather touches his neck, he moves away from it and goes left. If you want to go right, move your hand to the right. If you want him to stop, lean back slightly and pull back gently on the reins. Now, I’m not going to let you loose with him just yet. I’m going to lead him for a short walk. Hold onto the pommel at first and let the reins hang loosely. Okay?”

The Spine nodded somewhat nervously.  
Peter spoke up, “Spine, hold onto that saddle until your gyros figure it out. Use your AI. You have to move _with_ the horse. Don’t fight against the motion.”  
The Spine nodded and firmly grasped onto the pommel. 

“Here we go.” Tony and Jake began walking across the grass. At first the motion was disturbing to The Spine, rising, falling, a swaying from side to side. His gyros wanted to fight it but he let his AI processors analyze it without consciously interfering. They walked to the end of the manor ell. The motion began to feel natural as they made the turn back. 

“We’re going to do some quick longeing work. I know you want to get back to your friends. You seem to take to this pretty quickly.” He uncoiled the longe line and walked perpendicular to the horse until it was somewhat taught.

“Ok, Jake knows what to do on the longe line. Hold the reins but don’t use them. When you want him to walk forward give a couple chucks with your tongue, lean slightly forward and give a very gentle pressure with your shins. Don’t kick him in the ribs. Be _gentle_.”

A moment of hesitation. The Spine seemed to be taking a deep breath. A quiet venting of steam rose from his top vents as he took up the reins. Though he didn’t have a tongue as it were, he made a convincing chucking noise and urged the horse forward. Jake started into a slow walk. A smile crept across The Spine’s face as they made one circle, then another.

“We’re gonna take him into a trot now,” called out Tony. “I want you to do a standing trot, so you’re going to be sitting on your inner thighs, slightly out of the saddle, your ankles and feet doing most of the work. If I find you bouncing too much against the saddle, we’ll go back to a walk.”

“Spine! Use your AI!” Peter was still in the background, watching intently. He saw the steam venting stop as The Spine let pressure build in case he needed a quick reaction.

“Son, when you’re ready, another chuck and slight leg pressure.” 

As ready as I’ll ever be, thought the Spine as he urged the horse into a trot. The motion change caught him off guard but thankfully the horse’s gait was smooth as silk. He put his left hand on the pommel to steady himself as he rotated forward and raised slightly from the saddle. After the first few steps, he was no longer hitting the saddle with his weight. Once balance was achieved he let go of the pommel and let his arm fall to his side. The horse, used to inexperienced riders, wasn’t phased in the least. 

“Good! Perfect! Keep your back and shoulders loose. Two more times around. Good boy, Jake! Good boy!”  
They made two more rounds. The Spine gently pulled back on the reins. “Whoa,” he said as the horse slowed to a stop. His beaming smile was back. Rabbit was jumping up and down and clapping with absolute joy. 

Tony walked over and unsnapped the longe line while patting Jakes neck and telling him what a good boy he was. At the snap of the chain The Spine’s eyes held a startled look and his smile instantly changed to an expression of total concentration. He didn’t notice Rabbit and Peter leaving. 

“Okay, son. Take him for a walk up to the corner of the house, turn and trot back. Remember to keep your back and shoulders loose.”

The Spine turned the horse and began a slow walk, marveling at how willing the animal was to do his bidding, how easily he moved beneath him, how absolutely wonderful it felt to be riding a real horse. 

_I’m riding…a horse!_ His smile came back full force. When he reached the corner he turned and urged Jake into a trot on the return, dutifully bringing him to a slow walk and full stop at Tony’s shoulder.

“That was real good, son. Looking like one of the Magnificent Seven there.” The Spine shook his head in embarrassment at the words.

“No, not that good,” he said sheepishly.

“Actually ya. I’ve never had a student learn like you. Jake likes you too. You’re considerate of his back. Hah!”  
The horse gave Tony a shove with his nose then shook his head, jangling his tack chains and snorting lightly. The Spine patted the horse’s shoulder.

“He’s a wonderful horse,” said The Spine.

“Are you ready for a ride across the lawn? I think everyone’s waiting for you.”

“May I?”

“Of course! I’ll walk you to the corner of the house, then you take him for a few trips across the lawn. Walk the turns and trot the straights. Jake’ll be a good boy. Won’t ya Jake.” He gave the horse a rub on the nose.The horse snorted and tossed his head as if answering, “Let’s go!”

Rabbit and Peter had returned to the party. The cake was demolished into a one-layer scattering of pieces on plates. The food on the table was being rearranged onto fewer trays and there was a large dent in the ice filled cold drinks bin but it wasn’t anywhere near empty yet. Peter picked up a house phone to check with security to be sure they had cameras on the back lawn. Rabbit grabbed a bottle of water off the sideboard and chugged it down. She was running rather hot in all her excitement. Everything was going better than planned. Both she and Peter went to stand near the low wall of the patio overlook, gazing down at the far corner of the house. The party moved to mill about the area where they were standing. Rabbit grasped Peter’s arm and pointed. The Spine on Jake emerged from the dark shadows of the house at a slow walk at first, then they broke into a trot.

There was a collective gasping “Ooooooh,” from the crowd along the overlook. The sight was pure beauty. The horse’s deep black coat glistening in the morning sun, his mane and tail flowing in the breeze of his movement, his fetlock feathers floating with each step, his heavy musculature carrying, with ease, the tall rider in the saddle. Sunlight glinted off The Spine’s dorsal fins, glittering and sparkling — just like diamonds, thought Rabbit, as she watched the two move as one across the grass. 

The crowd watched as The Spine rode several times across the lower lawn. They saw the handler make a beckoning gesture. Horse and rider went to him. The Spine leaned over to listen, then he nodded, his smile even wider as he turned and walked Jake to the far end of the lawn. Turning, he urged the horse into a trot, then leaned forward into a slow canter. Jake obligingly put on his best show as they made the return, his strong neck bowed, his feet almost dancing. They slowed as they approached Tony near the overlook, coming to a stop just below. The crowd cheered and clapped. The Spine waved his hat at them. The horse tossed his head as if also acknowledging the crowd. 

Tony took hold of Jake’s reins and led them over to the low retaining wall below the overlook. After a quick instruction, The Spine carefully dismounted to the wall. He stepped down to the ground, going to Jake and throwing his arms around the greathorse’s neck in a hug, thanking him for the ride. The horse nickered and hung his massive head over the Spine’s shoulder, drawing him in closer with his chin, returning the hug.

“Aaaawwww,” came the unison sentiment from the crowd above, along with a smattering of clapping. The Spine became aware that he was being seen by all in a touching moment, but decided he didn’t care. 

Peter leaned over and whispered to Rabbit, “What a beautiful idea, Rabbit. The Spine was in a bad way. This is one of his life’s dreams.”

Maybe, thought Rabbit, as she took his arm in hers. She had recognized the lullaby that The Spine had been listening to when she went to the Hall to get him. And she had seen the moment with the horse, where she thought he had remembered. It will be bad for him if he remembers, but it might be better if he did. It put her into a dilemma over what to do, as her memories of that time appeared to be nearly intact. Making a decision, she leaned closer to Peter. “He needs to remember,” she said to him in a whisper. He patted her hand and answered, “We’ll do what we can for him.”

**Author's Note:**

> Parts of this series might be considered slightly off-canon.


End file.
